Hurricane Florence: Latest on its track, possible impacts on Philadelphia area, New Jersey

Sept. 12--Hurricane Florence remains a Category 4 storm churning in the Atlantic but it is expected to slow on its path to the coasts of North and South Carolina. Here's the latest of what we know:

--Florence is a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. The hurricane is about 575 miles southeast of Cape Fear, N.C., and is moving at a speed of 17 mph. The projected path of the storm has shifted slightly south.

--The National Hurricane Center says Florence is expected to slow down Thursday night when it runs into a high pressure system that is forecast to begin building over the east-central United States. That means the storm will linger off the coast, battering coastal areas with winds and storm surges, before the eye of the storm makes landfall early Saturday.

--Florence is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 storm with winds of about 100 mph and then weaken.

--Officials are urging residents to evacuate coastal areas in the hurricane's path no later than Wednesday. President Trump urged people in the path to evacuate, saying: " "Get out of its way. Don't play games with it. It's a big one... We love you all, we want you safe, get out of the storm's way."

--The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly says that come the weekend, the Philadelphia region "will be caught between expansive high pressure to the north and the weakening low of Florence meandering over the Southeast U.S." That means we can expect some unsettled weather, including thunderstorms and showers. Minor tidal flooding is possible during the times of high tide along the coast.

--Task forces from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including a contingent of Philadelphia fire fighters, have been dispatched to the Carolinas with boats and other equipment to assist in rescues and other recovery efforts.

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